Researchers found that by combining semiconducting molecules C60 with layered materials, such as graphene and hBN, they could produce a unique material technology, which could revolutionise the concept of smart devices.

In a novel fermentation method, researchers have developed graphene-containing rubber foams with unusual mechanical and electrical behaviours: when stretched, the composite foams expand and become more conductive. These unexpected properties could be promising for use in smart filters and medical devices.

Researchers show that by using different materials to build a quantum tunneling junction, they were able to alter capacitance by manipulating spins in the opposite way from 'normal' magnetocapacitance. This inverse effect, the researchers say, adds one more potentially useful phenomenon to the spintronics toolkit.